This invention relates generally to the field of outdoor cooking, and more particularly to an apparatus for improved heat circulation and containment, and which prevents food drippings from escaping while cooking.
One aspect of the invention relates to a grill base design such as a base pan that allows for improved heat circulation and containment when smoking or grilling. The base pan design of the present invention enhances heat circulation and containment within the unit, and also offers a built in channel located in the bottom of the pan. The bottom of the base pan is designed with a large hole opening which creates a channel around the outside of the hole. This opening not only allows for improved air circulation, it is also positioned for the exterior gas flame to enter into the smoker or grill. In addition, the channel offers added protection against falling charcoal and ashes, which may fall from the bowl or plate inside the unit. Furthermore, the channel is designed to catch drippings from food. Adding water to the channel allows for easy clean-up and better condensation when water smoking.
Another object of the invention is its strategically placed air openings throughout the base pan. In addition to the opening at the bottom of the base pan, the base pan has holes for mounting legs and brackets, and a knockout hole when using an electric element. It also features three legs with vents that are designed to be placed over holes in the base pan located towards the top of the base pan.
The present invention features a base pan for smoking or grilling that comprises a main body having a bottom and side, with the side including a plurality of peripherally spaced apart vent openings. The base pan includes a plurality of legs each having an air vent, with the legs being secured to the main body so as to least partially cover respective vent openings provided in the main body such that there is air flow communication between said vent openings and corresponding air vents of said legs.
The base pan""s legs each have a plurality of air vent apertures juxtaposed to the corresponding main body""s air vent opening. In one embodiment, there are three legs circumferentially spaced about the side of said main body with each having a plurality of horizontal air vent slots that extend from side edge to side edge of the vent openings of the pan""s main body. The legs are U-shaped in cross-section such that a channel is formed between an interior surface of each leg and an exterior surface of the side surface of the main body positioned below the corresponding vent opening in the main body.
The main body has an upper peripheral flange extending radially outward from the side of the main body and extending out over an upper opening in the channels formed by the legs. The flange has a rolled, peripheral upwardly extending edge. The legs have a covering section that extends over a full perimeter of the corresponding vent openings of the main body. The legs further include fastener holes and the side of the main body includes a plurality of leg fastening holes which are positioned in general vertical alignment with respective vent openings formed in the side, and the fastener and fastening holes are aligned so that the base pan can include a plurality of fasteners that extend through the fastener hole and fastening hole.
The base pan further comprises a plurality of grill rack brackets each having an attachment hole aligned with a fastener hole in a respective leg such that fasteners can extend through aligned fastener holes in the legs and fastening holes in the side and through attachment holes in the brackets.
An embodiment of the invention features a base pan wherein the bottom of the main body has a center opening, and wherein the center opening is defined by an edge extension extending upward off the bottom of the main body, which edge defines a bottom channel between the side of the main body and the edge extension. The embodiment of the invention also features an arrangement wherein the side and edge extension each extend vertically with the side extending vertically higher than the edge extension.
The base pan embodiment noted above can further include an electrical element knock out hole in the base pan side that is in general vertical alignment with one of the vent openings formed in the main body.
Thus, in one embodiment of the invention a base pan for smoking or grilling is provided having a main body with a bottom and a side wall, the side wall extending vertically upward from the bottom to an upper side wall end, the side wall including a plurality of peripherally spaced apart vent openings formed within the side wall below the upper side wall end and above the bottom. Also, a plurality of legs are secured to the main body, the bottom of the main body has a central opening, and the central opening and vent openings in the side wall are in air circulation communication so as to promote air circulation within the base pan during smoking or grilling. The central opening is defined by a vertically extending edge extension which forms an annular channel between the side wall and edge extension. The main body includes an upper flange extending radially out from the upper side wall end, and the legs have a leg section with air vents formed therein. The leg section is positioned over and covers a corresponding one of the vent openings in the main body. The leg sections have a U-shaped cross section with an outer wall and two side extensions, and the side extensions are in contact with the main body and the outer wall is spaced from the main body, and the leg section forms part of the outer wall. The noted embodiment features three vent openings in the side wall that are circumferentially spaced apart. Also, the base pan has each vent opening represented by a continuous peripheral vent edge that has all points lying on a common cylindrical surface.
In addition, the invention features a smoker grill assembly that includes a base pan that has a main body with a bottom and side, the side including a plurality of peripherally spaced apart vent openings. The base pan further comprises a plurality of legs each having an air vent, with the legs being secured to the main body so as to least partially cover respective vent openings provided in the main body such that there is air flow communication through the vent openings and corresponding air vents of the legs, and the base pan having a central opening in the bottom of the main body. The smoker grill assembly further includes a grill supported by the base pan, a covering body supported by the base pan and positioned so as to cover the grill, and a gas cooker having a flame producer which directs a flame though the central opening in the base pan.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a flame disk design that helps distribute the flame from the burner evenly throughout the unit for direct grilling, or when burning wood chunks when smoking. The disk also prevents internal food drippings or ashes from escaping through the disk, while allowing heat to pass through. The flame disk design is heat efficient and safeguards against drippings or ashes falling through to the burner or ground. The holes in the disk are raised to deter food drippings and ashes from falling through to the ground, while adding rigid strength to the disk. The disk has attached support cover legs, which lifts the disk on its cooking base. In one embodiment a member such as an inner extension of the legs are strategically placed over the raised holes in the disk, which adds additional protection against food drippings escaping through the disk holes, while also allowing heat to pass through while cooking.
Another feature of the invention is the providing of a disk that is designed to protect the burner. The disk is also designed for easy removal, which allows for quick clean up. Still yet another feature of the invention is the disk has a series of raised holes for optimum heat placement, and allows for more efficient burn time when smoking with wood. A further feature of the invention is the disk design allows for better insulation keeping more heat inside the unit when grilling or smoking, for instance.
The invention thus features a flame disk that is particularly well suited for use with the above described base pan with the legs of the flame disk finding support in the channel area of the base pan formed between the center opening edge extension and the base of the other side wall. The flame disk preferably comprises a plate having a peripheral edge and a plurality of holes formed internally of the peripheral edge as well as leg supports. The leg supports being connected with said plate and said leg supports having a lower contact end positioned below the plate so as to place the plate in a suspended state with respect to the leg supports, and the leg supports having an upper section which extends over the holes so as to cover the holes. In an embodiment of the present invention each of the holes is defined by a raised extension extending upward from a base portion of the plate. The plate is further defined by a raised peripheral edge which extends upward from the base portion of said plate, with the raised extension of said holes extending vertically up from the base portion of said plate to a greater extent than that of the raised peripheral edge.
In an embodiment of the invention, an upper edge of each of the holes defines an exit opening having an exit opening perimeter, and the upper section of the support legs extends over respective exit openings and each of said upper sections has a covering area which exceeds an area defined by the exit opening perimeter being covered such that the upper sections completely cover, from a plan view perspective, the exit openings. The upper sections extend parallel with an upper face of the base portion of the plate in the noted embodiment. In addition, the leg supports include an internal extension which extends from an internal end of respective upper sections into contact with the upper face of the base portion. The internal sections are arranged so as to extend transversely with respect to both said upper section and said base portion.
An embodiment of the present invention also features leg supports that include an outer section extending radially out from an outer end of said upper section, and said outer section including a sloped section that extends to the lower contact end of the leg supports, and the sloped section has a slope which places an interior surface of the sloped section in a flush relationship with respect to the raised outer edge of the circular plate, with the upper face of said plate being suspended at about an intermediate height of a rise in said sloped section.
In an embodiment of the invention, the plate has a plurality of raised edges defining the holes which raised edges extend radially in a common direction with a radial extension of the upper section of the leg supports. Also, the raised edges have an oblong shape with a radial length that is less than a radial extension of the upper section and a maximum circumferential width that is less than that of a corresponding upper section so that the upper extensions completely cover over corresponding oblong shaped holes. In one embodiment there are three individual leg supports and three oblong shaped holes formed in the plate.
In an embodiment of the invention, the invention provides a flame disk for use in an outdoor cooking apparatus that comprises a plate having a raised peripheral edge and a plurality of holes internally of the raised peripheral edge, and the holes being defined by raised extensions extending up from a face portion of the plate. The flame disk further including hole coverings that extend vertically above an upper edge of respective raised extensions so as to completely cover the holes, when viewed in a plan view perspective. The supports are in contact with the plate such that the plate is suspended above a surface contact end of the supports. The flame disk features supports that are defined by individual leg members each having a lower section which includes the contact end and an upper section which defines one of the hole coverings. The hole coverings are arranged so as to be free from contact with the raised extensions defining the holes. The holes extend radially in alignment with a radial extension of the leg members, and each of the leg members includes an internal section that extends from an interior end of a corresponding one of the hole coverings into contact with the face portion of the plate. In an embodiment of the invention, each leg member includes an outer section extending radially out away from the raised peripheral edge of the plate and has a free end defining the surface contact end of the supports. The outer section slopes downward from between the raised peripheral edge and the surface contact end. Also, an interior surface of the outer section contacts the raised peripheral edge of the plate. With this embodiment of the invention, the holes extend radially between a radial inner end and a radial outer end, and the hole coverings extend both radially inward of the radial inner end of the holes and radially out away from the radial outer end of the holes, and the hole coverings extend parallel to the upper face of the plate.
The invention also features a smoker grill assembly that comprises a base pan having a side wall and bottom with the bottom including a heat passage opening and a flame disk positioned within the base pan and over the heat passage opening. The flame disk includes a plate having heat passage openings and legs which support the plate in a suspended state with respect to the bottom of the pan, and the legs being in a non-connected state with respect to the base pan for easy removal. Under this embodiment of the invention, the heat passage openings in the plate are defined by raised extensions extending off a face surface of the plate and the legs have hole covering sections that extend above the heat passage openings so as to completely cover the heat passage openings from a plan view perspective. Also, in this embodiment the plate includes a raised peripheral edge which extends upward off the face surface of said plate to a lesser extent than that of said raised extensions defining the heat passage openings. There are also a plurality of circumferentially spaced heat passage openings and an equal number of legs with hole covering sections extending over the heat passage openings, and the leg members each include an internal support section extending between an interior end of a corresponding one of said hole coverings into a connective relationship with respect to the face surface of the plate and an external support section extending radially out from a peripheral edge of the plate such that the hole coverings are suspended above the heat passage openings. The base pan has a central circular opening and the plate is circular, and the plate has a diameter that is more than that of the central circular opening in the base pan. The smoker grill assembly further comprising a cooking unit with a heat source positioned centrally of the bottom of the base pan so as to direct heat though the central opening in the base pan and a covering dome member dimensioned for covering an open top end of the base pan.
The present invention also features a base pan embodiment which features a central opening in the bottom of the pan with the central hole being defined by a raised extension. The raised extension is preferably a rolled edge that is continuous about a central opening in the pan""s horizontal bottom plate. The base pan further includes a side body which includes a lower section in the form of an outwardly diverging curved side wall with a generally frusto-conical configuration. This lower section preferably extends up from the periphery of the base plate to an intermediate step shoulder. The pan side body also includes an upper section in the form of an outwardly diverging curved side wall which extends up from the periphery of the support shoulder so as to have a minimum diameter greater than that of the maximum diameter of the lower section. The upper section also has a generally frusto-conical configuration and extends upwardly off from the outer periphery of the step shoulder up to the upper rim of the pan. The upper rim of the base pan includes an outwardly extending support section for supporting a cooking apparatus component, (e.g., a cover, a smoker extension and/or a grill rack) with an upwardly bent or rolled peripheral edge.
The raised extension surrounding the central hole extends sufficiently upward to define a fluid capture channel between the extension and the pan side body.
In one embodiment the base pan is free of integral or attached supports, such as secured legs. With this embodiment, the base pan can be supported on an underlying support stand such as one having a ring for contact with the underside of the base pan""s bottom plate around the central hole, or a larger diameter support object which makes contact with the underside of the step shoulder, or the underside of the base pan""s upper flanged rim. In the latter two situations, the base pan can be set in position within a supporting cut-out of a support structure in similar fashion in which a sink is installed.
In an alternate embodiment the base pan includes an attached or integrated support assembly which suspends the bottom plate with central opening off away from an underlying surface. In a preferred embodiment, a tripod arrangement is provided with two legs including wheels and a third, longer leg member not including wheels to provide a position retention function. The legs are preferably attached at their upper end to the upper section of the base pan""s side wall.
An alternate embodiment of the invention features a base pan assembly which includes one of the above-described base pan embodiments together with a cooking unit in the form of a xe2x80x9cfire pitxe2x80x9d container. As also made clearer below, xe2x80x9cfire pitxe2x80x9d is used in a broad sense to include the preferred gas burner head support container specifically described herein as well as other supported heat sources such as combustibles (e.g., charcoal), electric resistance units, etc. The preferred fire pit container features a container body with a bottom and a side wall with an upper end. The fire pit container is designed for reception within the central opening of the base pan. The fire pit container is suspended from the bottom of the base pan and has means for suspension support with respect to the raised extension. One means for suspension support includes providing the upper edge of the container with a peripherally continuous (or interrupted) lip flange which extends radially out sufficiently far enough to both catch and be supported by the upper free edge of the raised extension. As the container""s side wall is of a diameter less than the interior side surface of the raised extension (preferably by a slide contact relationship or within a half inch clearance), the container can be easily inserted by insertion of the container downward through the central hole until its upper lip flange comes in supporting contact with the raised extension. In addition, releasable (e.g., circumferentially spaced spring strips secured to the lip) attachment means can be utilized, but in a preferred embodiment reliance is placed solely on contact support.
In one embodiment of the invention, the fire pit container preferably is designed to support a gas (e.g., propane) burner head and thus features a reception passageway formed to receive a portion of the burner or the conduit leading thereto and means for securing the head in a stable position such as a hole for reception of a nut/bolt combination of the burner head, a clamping arrangement, a recessed area, or the like. In addition, air vents are preferably provided in the container to facilitate burner operation. To provide for a suspended container, the vertical height of the container, while in a support arrangement with the base pan, is of a height sufficient to place the container in a suspended state with respect to an underlying support above which the base pan is suspended by way of, for example, the aforementioned tripod arrangement.
The present invention also features a further embodiment of a flame disk which is particularly well suited for use in a fire pit assembly as described below and thus is referred to as a fire pit flame disk for convenience, although other flame disk embodiments such as those described above are also suitable for use with the base pan fire pit assembly, described in greater detail below. The fire pit flame disk comprises preferably a flat bottom plate with an elongated peripheral side body wall extending upwardly and obliquely from the peripheral edge of the base plate. The side body wall features an intermediate stepped outward extension which provides a grill reception support platform, which grill reception platform provides means for supporting supplemental or replacement heating sources such as wood logs, lava rocks, heating embers or the like. For example, a gas burner provided in the fire pit container can be activated to ignite a plurality of wood logs and then shut off once the logs have reached a sufficient burning state. This provides for an efficient operating smoker and avoids undue gas usage. The grill supported on the flame disk can also provide a support for food products, although most food products are better suited for cooking on a grill rack supported on the base pan as described below.
Within the flat plate there are provided a plurality of preferably oblong shaped, radially extending holes with vertically raised peripheral extensions so as to provide a plurality of louvers. The louvers extend from close to the peripheral outer edge of the plate (e.g., within the radial outer 25% region of the plate) while the inner edge is spaced outward from an internal uninterrupted area having a radial distance of at least 12% of the total radial distance. The louvers preferably extend across at least a majority of the radial distance of the base plate and preferably 60 to 80% of that distance.
The raised extension is sufficiently high to trap drippings from food products above the base plate and provide for water steaming. That is, liquid is retained external to the extensions and internal to the side body wall.
To further prevent drippings and other liquids from dripping below the flame disk and to provide for a high quality dissipation of heat while avoiding direct flame contact on food stuffs, louver covers are positioned above each of the raised louver extensions. Over each louver (e.g., three equally circumferentially spaced) there is positioned a louver cover with each louver cover having a sufficient width so as to cover the widest portion of each hole and preferably overlap (e.g., a quarter to a third width section extending outward from a respective louver outermost edge to form an overlap) the boundary of that hole.
Preferably, the louver cover is independent of the raised extension both from a radial contact with plate positioning standpoint and a height clearance stand point. A preferred embodiment of the fire pit flame disk features an internal section which is connected to the uninterrupted central area of the flame disk""s base plate between the center point of the plate and the interior edge of an adjacent most raised louver extension, e.g., a bent tab weld secured to the plate with an upwardly extending portion positioned at an internal end of the cover. Extending outwardly from the cover""s internal section is an intermediate section of the cover which includes a hole covering portion preferably in the form of a strip of material that extends radially internally of the inner end of the raised louver extension to a location radially externally of the outer end of the raised louver extension. The cover preferably further comprises an outer section which supports the cover external to the radial outer end of the louver hole. In a preferred fire pit flame disk embodiment, the outer section includes a side body wall attachment portion such as an upwardly bent tab that is angled to conform to the divergent side body wall of the flame disk (e.g., welded tab) at a location below the stepped shoulder formed in the fire pit flame disk side wall. The hole covering portion preferably is a flat metal strip extending parallel to the flame disk""s base plate and at a height above the upper edge of the louver extension that allows for heat dispersion via a flow of air within and out away from the clearance space between the upper edge of the raised extension and the above positioned hole covering portion. Also, by having the hole covering portion spaced below the level of the grill supporting stepped shoulder in the fire pit flame disk, heat is also more readily free to flow in a convective current above the hole covering portion and below the grill.
Alternatively, the hole covering portions can be provided along a common horizontal plane with that of the contact portion of the grill support shoulder to provide an internal support region for a food stuff, food container or secondary heat source grill or rack.
One embodiment of the fire pit flame disk features a suspension support such as a plurality of circumferentially spaced legs which extend down from an upper attachment location with either the flame disk""s side body wall and/or base plate. In a preferred embodiment there are a plurality of circumferentially spaced legs, each having a leg section with a lower end for contact with an underlying support such as the channel region of a base pan formed between the base pan""s central hole extension and the base pan""s side wall. In a preferred embodiment, there are an equal number of legs as louver holes with the legs being equally circumferentially spaced apart from each other and at a location between an adjacent pair of the louver holes. The legs also are preferably formed of strip material that is bent into an L-shape with a horizontal section welded or otherwise secured to the bottom of the flame disk base plate and the other leg section extending vertically down in a transverse relationship with the attached section.
The height of the vertical extension portion of the legs is sufficient to place the flame disk""s base plate above, in a height clearance relationship, the upper edge of the base pan""s central hole extension (or the lip flange of a fire pit burner container support flange supported on the central hole extensions"" upper edge). In this way, a convective flow of heat is possiblexe2x80x94radially and between the circumferentially spaced flame disk legs and along and over the side body wall of the flame disk. The height of the flame disk side body wall is preferably arranged so as to be less than the height of the lower section of the base pan""s side body wall such that the upper edge of the flame disk""s side body wall is positioned below the stepped shoulder formed in the side wall of the base pan. While a height clearance is provided, the flame disk helps in containment and equal dispersion of the heat generated there below.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. Wherein, by way of illustration and example, embodiments of the present invention are disclosed. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in various other forms.